I HANDED LUCKY his boots and a Killers t-shirt from his bag while he continued to talk to Rocky. From what I could piece together while I located my own scattered clothing, Sky had tried to call Lucky around midnight because she hadn’t been feeling well again. When he had failed to answer his cell, she had dialed Rocky. He had gone to her room and found her in pretty bad shape with nausea and abdominal pain. Thinking it was a stomach bug, he'd stayed with her for a while, but when her breathing had become labored he got worried enough to take her to the ER. They had run bloodwork, determined that her sugar level was dangerously high, put her on IV fluids and insulin and just transferred her to intensive care.
"We're on our way," Lucky told him before hanging up.
"I'm so sorry," I said. He acknowledged my comment with a distracted nod on the way to the bathroom. He emerged with his cell.
“I’m texting Rocky to let him know I found my phone. It was in the pocket of my leather pants. I had turned off the ringer before the show. With all that was going on with us, I forgot to turn it back on.” He glanced at me. “Are you ready?” Redressed in the crumpled stained silk, I knew I looked awful, and I really hadn't been sure if he would want me to accompany him, but the fact that he presumed that I would made a lot of the previous anxiety inside me ease.
"You'll be cold, and I don’t want anyone else looking at your sexy tits and ass but me." He opened the closet, withdrew a black leather jacket and helped me put it on. It smelled like him. My eyes burned as I stared at his bowed head and he zipped it up for me. His sister was in the hospital. I knew that explained why his hands trembled, but still he took the time to care for me. I felt honored by his actions, a novel feeling for me.
He snagged his wallet and the hotel key card from the dresser, then grabbed my hand and we were off.
When we reached Sky's room at the hospital, Lucky and I separated. The fingers that had been crushed in his tight grip since we had exited his hotel room felt bereft without his. I offered one more silent prayer for both of them as I watched him enter his sister’s room without a backward glance. Not that I expected one. He had been silent as the dead during the cab ride. I empathized, imagining that he must have been feeling incredibly guilty about missing Sky’s call. I was tempted to give him a similar speech to the one he had given me about Hawk, but now was not the time considering the ongoing circumstances.
As soon as the door slid closed behind him, I found Marsha. She waited in the hallway just outside the ICU.
"What happened?" I asked, noting her pallor. "You look terrible. How long have you been here?"
"Too long." She let out a shaky breath. "Since she called Rocky and told him she was feeling ill. He jumped right off of me and went straight to her." She wrinkled her nose. Apparently, that had been an awkward scene. "But at least they know what it is, and she's stable now." She pushed away from the wall. "Can we go outside for a couple of minutes? Please?"
"Sure, I guess," I agreed. But yet I glanced backward. I didn't want Lucky to think I had abandoned him, but my best friend looked two seconds away from freaking out. I had to go with her.
Following alongside Marsha since she seemed to know the way, we took the elevator down to the main level and exited the building through a revolving door. Outside, I wrapped Lucky's leather jacket tighter around me. It was much too large, but it covered up the silk dress I suspected was ruined, and it kept me warm against the morning chill.
"Mars, what's going on? Stop." I grabbed her by the upper arm when it looked like she might keep going. "I can’t go far. I don’t have Lucky's cell number. I don’t want him to think I deserted him. If he needs me..."
"You didn’t have that same concern for me,” she snapped whirling around to face me. Her blue eyes flashed and her cheeks were flushed in stark contrast to her earlier sallowness.
"When was I not there for you?" I returned. "You knew I was planning to spend the night with Lucky. You saw me leave with him." She blinked slowly as if my words were spoken in a foreign language. I took both her hands. "You're acting weird. It’s scaring me. And I've had enough scares for one night. Morning, I mean."
"Oh, hell. I’m sorry, Raven. I...just..." She shuddered. "I can’t stand hospitals anymore. Just the smell alone reminds me."
"Of what?" An unsettled sensation slithered an icy course down my spine.
"Everything." The way she was acting, jittery and evasive reminded me of how she had been right after Hawk died. "Nothing, I mean. It's just unpleasant. The disinfectant. The fear. The smell of death." She pulled away and covered her face with her hands. I didn’t know what was going on. But I wasn’t going to let it rest. Obviously whatever it was needed to be addressed. "What are you talking about, Mars? Is this about when my mom got sick?" I pried her hands away from her face.
"I should say yes. But I've never lied to you. Not directly. Some things are better not known, I told myself back then. Maybe that’s still true. Only..." She trailed off, gnawing on her lip and looking like she was spiraling.
"Only what? No more half-lies or half-truths or whatever. Just tell me. You said it yourself, you and me, thick and thin. We work things out together."
"I'm not just in a little financial trouble," she blurted. "I’m up to my ass in it. I lost my transcriptionist job. I've got no place to stay once we get back to Dallas. My dad is giving me the this-is-your-mess tough love treatment. You know like he did back in high school when my mom left us for good and I got caught shoplifting. Creditors are on my case nonstop. I think that’s the reason WMO is strong-arming you about me. They probably did a background check. The level of debt I have is a big red flag. So is the inpatient psych time that racked up most of those expenses."
"Why did you have in patient psych treatment and where was I when this was happening?" My voice shook. I felt like I’d had the foundation of the world I knew yanked out from under me.
"For depression. You were mourning Hawk. So was I for sure, but there was also the baby."
"My brother's?" I gulped the question, tears springing to my eyes.